More than two weeks ago, when only DeRozan’s second-half scoring spree kept the Raptors from complete embarrassment against Chicago, each bucket from the Toronto Raptors guard was accompanied by a gesture or a glare. It was not necessarily negatively directed toward his teammates, but it was a palpable distaste for the situation. Two days later against Portland, DeRozan once more appeared visibly annoyed after an overtime loss.

And on Sunday, after the Raptors’ third home loss in six days — to Brooklyn, to Miami and, finally, 112-98 to Denver — DeRozan was again exasperated. It could have been a little bit of honest self-reflection after a 5-for-14 shooting performance. his worst in a few weeks, but DeRozan was pained.

“Me, personally, I’m frustrated, period, of losing at home,” DeRozan said. “I hate it. I hate it with a passion.

“We’re right there. We’re the ones [making mistakes]. Nobody is making us miss our coverages or nothing like that.”

DeRozan sounds like someone who has spent too much time invested in the welfare of the Raptors. We have seen this before from other players drafted into the organization who grew to become the team’s face, or at least voice — primarily Vince Carter and Chris Bosh. Eventually, being a part of repeated Raptors implosions can wear on a basketball soul. To be clear: DeRozan has not asked for a trade, and remains positive about the city and team.

He has not matched the production of Carter or Bosh, the franchise’s two greatest players. Even in the diminished Eastern Conference, discussing DeRozan as a potential all-star is a stretch. His defence, in particular, is lacking, something Bosh pointed out after the Miami win on Friday. (That was a minor note from Bosh, who largely praised his former teammate.)

Still, DeRozan has been a better player this year than last. The biggest change has been his three-point shooting. On media day, DeRozan issued a just-watch-me credo when questioned about his long-range shooting, and he is connecting on 38% of his three-pointers this year, taking 3.8 per game. He is already halfway to his 2012-13 total in attempts, after just 16 games.

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His player efficiency rating, below average in each of his first four years in the league, has bounced up to 17.5, tops on the team. (The league average is 15.0.) And after four years of anecdotal improvement but overall stagnation, DeRozan is putting on a nightly display of high-end shotmaking.

“He’s shooting a lot of the same shots in the same areas,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said “But he’s shooting with more confidence. Physicality doesn’t take him out like it used to. I think that’s from confidence and maturity a little bit.”

It makes you wonder whether it might be time to move DeRozan. Outside of the struggling Jonas Valanciunas, DeRozan is likely the most valuable commodity on the Raptors roster, and he is playing the best basketball of his career. If Masai Ujiri does decide to tear down this team — and these Raptors are not very good, 0-6 against teams that are .500 or better, with seven of their next 10 games against such squads — should DeRozan really be asked to lead a rebuilding team? Any version of that scenario should have the Raptors focussing on developing Valanciunas and acquiring young assets. With DeRozan and Rudy Gay taking the bulk of Toronto’s shots, the Raptors have done little to help Valanciunas’s growth on the offensive end.

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That is not entirely on DeRozan; the Raptors’ offence is not currently designed to engage Valanciunas, and their rotation features no savvy passers. Still, it is tough to envision a DeRozan-led offence — even in a world where the team can move Gay — that finds Valanciunas in advantageous positions.

This is as much about DeRozan as it is about the Raptors, though. DeRozan seems burdened by the Raptors’ woes, which says a lot about his desire to win. It is in the Raptors’ interest not to pursue winning in the short term. DeRozan could be the second coming of Jason Terry, a big part of so many losing teams in Atlanta before becoming an essential part of so many great teams in Dallas.

Ujiri should have some mercy on DeRozan. And it’s a bonus that he can do the right thing for the franchise at the same time.

I would think Valanciunas would see more action with DeMar than with Rudy. That whole part of the argument is very weak. The biggest problem is Rudy, and the tilt towards the perimeter as this team is constructed.

In any case, Jonas would not be thrilled with losing either. His body language is very bad. He gets very down on himself and has trouble keeping his head in the game after making a turnover or a foul.

An injury to Rudy could be pretty helpful. Even if it's not entirely real.

And sure, if they get a deal that's impossible to ignore then they have to take it. But I would hope that it would need to be more than basically a pick that would then have to be developed until they become frustrated.

sure, but only if the return was worthy of trading an all star. In other words, sell high doesn't mean to sell him for late lottery pick.

But overall, I don't buy his value is all that high. I doubt any GM would fall for Devlin favourites such as "best scorer in the league since yesterday at 8:54pm". Demar is a pretty known quantity and breakout years are rare for players with 6 years of experience. If he keeps it up for a full season, may change the conversation. But even then, what can we realistically expect? What would you trade for say klay thompson? Not JV and definitely not your first round pick this draft. And I don't think demar is even close to thompson in value right now.